Unadulterated Loathing
by WickedisWicked
Summary: After one night of drinks, Megan tells Peter why she ever married Todd.


A/N: Anybody else realise that in 'Love Thy Neighbour' Todd could have called Joan, Lacey's GRANDMOTHER and not his girlfriend, I mean, that must have been awkward for Lacey, right? And I know I'm making a big assumption assuming Joan was free, but I'm assuming it nonetheless.

Also, I don't think that there were any scenes with both Joan and Todd…

So this little fic was inspired by two quotes. The first from 'Love Thy Neighbour' being:

"So I called the only person I could think of..."

"... Your girlfriend?"

And the second from (I don't remember what episode, sorry!):

"I knew right from the moment I said my vows that my marriage was doomed."

"Then why'd you go through with it?"

"Because if I didn't my mother would have killed me."

At the beginning these things I've pointed out in my super long author's note may seem irrelevant, but I swear they will all make sense at the end. Okay, so before I write over a thousand words in the author's note, here's the story!

…

It had been a long day at work. Apparently even when you solve a murder and keep someone from poisoning a whole cul-de-sac you still have to do five billion hours of paperwork. Megan was almost halfway through, though. Right as she was about to start yet another package about God knows what, Megan heard a knock at her door. Through her office's glass walls, she could see Peter waiting for her to unlock the door. Seeing it as a welcome interruption, she walked across the room and pushed the small button on the silver knob, and finally opened the door for her colleague. He opted to stay standing at the doorway.

"Hey, some of the guys and I are getting drinks. You wanna come?" Peter asked, gesturing towards Curtis and Ethan standing by the elevator as if to provide evidence that they wouldn't be the only ones. Not that Peter would have minded that, of course. He did have some pretty strong feelings for his boss, not that he would ever tell her.

"Sure, why not?" Megan replied, glad to have any excuse to break up the paperwork she had been doing for the past two days. "But don't try anything, your girlfriend might get jealous." Megan added, reminding him of the gorgeous woman from the cul-de-sac that had shown quite an interest in her MI. Sure she joked now, but the day the woman had shown up here to see Peter Megan had been devastated. Little did she know that the younger woman was nothing more than a one night stand.

The colleagues went to go meet up with Ethan and Curtis, then all four of them proceeded to gather into a taxi Ethan had called.

…

About two hours and way too many glasses of wine later, Megan was feeling great. She had had great conversations with Peter, Ethan and Curtis. When it was starting to get late, around twenty minutes earlier both Ethan and Curtis said they had to leave, pointing out the next day was a work day and they both had a long commute.

That left Megan and Peter alone. For the past quarter hour Megan and Peter had been having a dynamic conversation where each would answer the others questions as honestly as they could.

"Okay, okay. So what's the deal with Todd? I mean, how'd you end up marrying such a jerk?" Peter pried.

Megan's giggles over Peter's last story about how he had punched his sister's boyfriend when he caught them making stopped abruptly.

"Really?" She asked, with an 'are you kidding me?' look on her face. "Alright…" she said, too drunk to care that she was about to reveal one of her past relationships with her current crush. "Well… it's gonna be a long one, so you might as well get comfortable.

"So, about thirteen and a half years ago I met Todd-" Megan started, only to be cut off by the MI who was gifted with numbers.

"Didn't Lacey just turn thirteen?" Peter asked curiously.

"Yes, now if you would just let me finish my story you would understand." Megan replied. "So as I was saying, Todd and I met just over thirteen years ago and we started dating almost immediately."

"How'd you two meet?" Peter asked curiously.

"A mutual friend, not important." Megan responded quickly. Even in her inebriated state she knew it was a bad idea to tell Peter that that common friend happened to be Todd's brother Mark whom she was dating at the time and had subsequently dumped the night she met Todd.

"Anyway, so Todd and I are… you know… dating…" she stressed the word indicating that it was more than just going to the movies. "And one day, about seven months later, I take a pregnancy test. And it's positive." Megan said. She could still remember the day she had found out she was pregnant with her daughter. Megan, at the time, wasn't sure wether she should be happy or wether she should cry herself to sleep at that very moment.

"Todd did what was expect of him, I guess. He proposed." Megan said. "And had it not been for my mother knowing and threatening to disown me if I had a baby out of wedlock, I would have outright refused."

"Wow. That's rough." Peter said with a sympathetic look on his face. He couldn't imagine what it must have been on Megan. I mean, to have an unexpected pregnancy, to not truly be in love with the father, and add to that the disappointment of a parent.

"It was," Megan confirmed. "To this day my mother can't be in the same room with Todd without them getting into a screaming match over how he, and I quote 'got her baby girl pregnant' and how he 'wasn't the only one involved in the process'. God, talk about your stereotypical monster-in-law." Megan said as she signalled the bartender for another glass of Merlot.

"And how did you actually managed to stay married?" Peter asked. He could imagine Joan being that protective over her daughter and wanting what's best for her. Joan's maternal instincts were clear as day to everyone but her daughter.

"I honestly have no idea," Megan replied as she took a sip of the large glass of red wine. "The marriage was doomed before it even started, though. I had a feeling that something was wrong, and one week before Lacey turned seven I found out what it was."

"I had just dropped Lacey off at a friend's house on my way home. She was excited and talking nonstop about her birthday party and how she wanted everything to be purple, and that kind of thing. Anyway, I just went home to get an important file I had left at home and that's when I found out exactly what kind of man Todd was."

"What do you mean?" Her MI asked, even though by the look on her face he wasn't sure he should ask. She looked like she was torn between killing someone and bawling her eyes out.

"I went to our bedroom to get the patient's file and he… he was in bed with another woman. It was one of my colleagues, too. She tried apologising, but I left. That night I went to perform surgery and… I could focus… I almost… if it wasn't for my chief nurse I would have killed the patient. I almost made a mistake and she caught it."

Peter noticed that Megan's eyes were becoming shiny.

"That's why I didn't want him dating Kate, you know? First off she's my friend, and if he could cheat on his wife he cheat on his girlfriend. Second, she's my colleague, just like… like the other woman." Megan couldn't help wonder how she had been so stupid. How she didn't notice the signs. After all, it wasn't like Todd was the first man to cheat on her.

"And that brought up those terrible memories." Peter finished her thought.

Megan just nodded her head. She didn't trust herself to speak. Peter, noticed how the conversation had become hard on her, and decided to leave it there.

He dug through his trouser pocket and put some crumpled up bills onto their table as payment for their drinks. He then stood up and pulled Megan up by the wrist.

"Let's get you home." He said gently. Both of them knew that that was probably the best idea and for once in her life, Megan didn't argue.

…

A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little fic, and if any of you found my reference to Wicked the Musical, I hope you point it out! Also, I will write another chapter if I am encouraged to do so in the reviews!


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